


Of Vows and Vermillion

by hpgeek_21



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 22:58:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3465176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hpgeek_21/pseuds/hpgeek_21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neither Mindy nor Danny are ready to give up their faith and beliefs for the other. Danny wants a white wedding in a cathedral and a priest ordaining the whole thing. Mindy wants to honor her Hindu roots for once and have a traditional Indian wedding with bright colors and loud music. If a baby wasn't enough to send Danny and Mindy into a frenzy, planning a wedding that can please them both and their families was the cherry on top of this already crazy cake. Will being true to themselves drive the two apart? Or will they be able to settle their differences and find the perfect fit for their lifestyles?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What If...?

**Author's Note:**

> Wow okay so I am really really really! excited for everyone to read this! I really wanna do the characters justice as well as each culture/religion being represented. Full disclosure, I am not Hindu or Indian, I am a Paki girl who watches a lot of Bollywood films and Indian weddings are similar to Pakistani weddings in a few aspects so hopefully I can make it right. If anyone has some hints or suggestions about anything I'd love to hear them! I hope you all enjoy!  
> -xoxo Tak

A baby. That was the cause of all of this chaos. The long conversation she and Danny had where she fought back fearful tears as she told him she was pregnant. The even longer conversation they had telling his family. And the longest conversation where she told her parents.

What was worse was trying to get their two families together for the next announcement; they were getting married. Danny proposed a month after she told him she was pregnant. It was an overstatement to say he had been thrilled when she told him. This was unconventional for him as a Catholic. But then again he could barely be conventional when it came to Mindy. He loved her despite his devotion to his religion. And as Mindy always reminded him, he was never one to follow all the rules: pre-marital sex, divorce, doubting the new Pope, and now a baby out of wedlock. Hell the idea of him and Mindy together alone was out of the ballpark of conventional. She was Hindu, which was huge leap from Catholicism. There lay the biggest problem. What were they going to do when they get married?

“Mindy Kuhel Lahiri, from the day we met we never got along. You were so loud and dramatic and buzzed around all over the place like a brightly colored bee which is what you looked like too in that black and yellow outfit.” Danny had started out at dinner the night of the proposal.

“Look man Wiz Khalifa came out with that song and you know it was my jam of the week.” She interrupted him.

He smiled remembering how much she listened to that song in that first day alone. “Anyways I remember seeing you and thinking, ’wow I’d hate to be the guy who has to spend the rest of his life with her.’”

“Wow that’s incredibly rude.” She told him.

“Mindy what I’m trying to get at is I was wrong back then to think that. Because the more I got to know you the more I wondered why someone wasn’t snatching you up. Then you’d open your mouth and I’d remember why but that also started to change. I started to change.” Danny had Mindy’s full attention now. He could tell she wasn’t about to interrupt by the way she stuffed ten French fries in her mouth and chewed slowly.

“I once thought I could just be your colleague and have lamp like feelings for you but you proved me wrong in more ways than one. I remember when I realized we were friends when I cared more about whether or not you were okay in a moment of weakness rather than making a dig. After that it was downhill. I cared way too much about you. More importantly about who you were kissing. I didn’t realize how jealous I was until you told me you were going to Haiti with Casey.”  
Mindy smiled at Danny and grabbed his hand.

“And when I heard you were in the hospital when you came back, that’s when I realized you were my best friend and I indeed would always have un-lamp like feelings for you.” He said.

“Danny where are you going with this?” She asked getting slightly annoyed at how long it was taking.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I love you Mindy. I never thought I could love someone like I love you. I will always only want to love you.” He said. Mindy bit her lip and couldn’t help but kiss his soft lips. “Mindy Lahiri will you marry me?”

“Marry?” She asked far from shocked. “Yes yes yes! Hells yes!”

And that was that. Now they were sitting in bed looking at venues, color palettes for schemes, flowers, and officials for the wedding.

“We’re getting married in a church Min and that’s final!” He told her. 

“I am not getting married in a place I become a hypocrite the moment I enter.” She said to him, annoyed. 

They had been going on like this since a week after the proposal. She had talked to her mom about the wedding when they announced their engagement. Her mother was dead set on having a proper Indian wedding for her daughter. It was true Mindy wasn’t very cultural, like ever, but if there was one thing she loved about her culture it was their elaborate, bright, and loud weddings full of colors and music and dancing. Mindy was always sure she wanted a traditional Indian wedding always even if she never married an Indian guy. She lived her whole life in bright colors; she wasn’t going to make an exception for her wedding. Especially not her wedding.

“Would it be so bad if we got married in not a church but maybe in a nice venue where we can have some real fun?” She asked subtley.

“Fun? Catholic ceremonies aren’t fun. Especially not when we sinned the way we have. God’s gonna want us to suffer through the whole thing.” Danny argued.

“Well what if our ceremony wasn’t a Catholic one?” She asked cautiously.

“Not Catholic? You’re gonna tell the most Catholic man you know to not have a Catholic ceremony? Mindy are ya outta ya mind?” He yelled at her in his Staten accent. “Great now ya got me talkin like this.”

“Danny I have done everything for you. Hell I even go to church for you which I would never do even if I was Catholic.” She said waving her finger. She had gotten up and was starting to go on a classic Mindy rant. “But that’s just the thing, I’m not Catholic. And I am never going to be Catholic. I couldn’t do it for Casey and I can’t do it for you just like you could never stop being Catholic for anyone even if God told you that true religion was Buddhism. I’m Hindu and I know I’m not the best Hindu out there but it doesn’t change that I am and I want to get married the way my parents did.”

She paused for a moment thinking about that more. “Maybe have a wedding like they did but you get my point. I love Indian weddings Danny. They’re so much fun and yeah they’re a little long with too many traditions and a lot of walking but I can make a real entrance being carried by hot men on a throne and it’s normal! I can wear a gorgeous dress that’s not gonna make me a fashion faux pas after Labor Day.”

When Mindy finally stopped listing all the reasons why she wanted to acknowledge her culture for her wedding, she left the room to go get something to eat. Danny took this moment to think about what she was saying. She wasn’t wrong about how she’s done so much for him and his religion. Every Sunday she goes to the Church with him and she stopped asking about where she can drink more of the blood of Christ. She even started volunteering with the Sunday daycare by reading stories to the kids whenever they went though he was pretty sure she replaced all the disciples’ names with the characters of Gossip Girl. Nonetheless she was trying for him and he probably should try for her too.

When Mindy returned with a huge piece of leftover lasagna Danny said, “Okay.”

Mindy almost dropped her lasagna. “Really Danny?!”

This was the first time he saw her so happy in a while over something non-food or baby related. “Really! So what did you have in mind?”


	2. Exsqueeze Me!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so I never actually expect anyone to read or like what I write so when even a single person likes it I explode with joy so thank you all of you for reading and making me so happy! I love you guys! <3  
> -xoxo Tak

When Danny agreed to this entire Indian wedding ordeal he did not think it meant having Mindy’s parents basically move in with two of them and keep him from sleeping with his fiancé and baby. He also didn’t expect to have Mindy agree with everything her mother insisted on.

“C’mon on Min I know you don’t believe in any of this crap.” He whispered to her one day when they went with Mindy’s mom to Jackson Heights, looking for a pundit to match their horoscopes and pick out a date for them.

“First of all Danny, have a little respect. This isn’t crap! It’s what my parents believe in and I do too at times. Second of all yeah I may not be all for this but my mom is and I’m not going to disappoint her anymore than I already do so zip it Castellano.” Mindy yelled at him in a hushed tone. Danny obeyed but he internalized his groans of disbelief and judging through out the whole thing.

To Danny’s disbelief the pundit looked nothing like the Love Guru but kinda like Mindy’s Dad just in a tunic instead of a dress shirt and much fatter.  
‘Probably off duty.’ Danny thought to himself.

“Namaskar, what can I do for you fine folk today?” The pundit asked. He looked at Mindy and her mom but eyed Danny a little suspiciously.

Mindy’s mom asked him in Hindi to look at the couple’s horoscopes and find an auspicious date and time for the wedding.

“These two are a couple?” He asked.

“Yes, you have a problem with that?” Danny defended.

“I didn’t mean to offend. I can see you’re not here on your own, but I must ask if you’re truly interested in this marriage because if so there is no going back once I have picked a date and time.” The pundit explained.

“Are you committed to this Danny?” Mindy’s mother asked. She wasn’t a huge fan of her soon to be son-in-law but he made Mindy happy which was all that she needed to be open to him.

Danny looked at the pundit, then Mindy’s mom before his eyes settled on Mindy and her baby bump. She looked exhausted even under all the makeup and glamming. Her eyes were scared he was gonna back out on her and he hated knowing she thought that of him. It was true he wasn’t really committed to this idea, secretly hoping she’d give it up or even forget that they talked about it but now that they were here and she was serious he knew he couldn’t back out.

“I am.” Danny said firmly, mostly to Mindy. He watched her light up and beam back at him. He turned to the pundit and Mrs. Lahiri and said again, “I’m committed to this.”

Mindy slipped her hand inside Danny’s for the rest of this trip. He was nervous, she could tell. His palms were clammy and more sweaty than usual. The pundit had brought out calendars, both Western and Hindu. He was looking back in time to the day Danny and Mindy were born to now.

“Something is off.” The pundit said. “It seems to me there is something blocking an overlapping of good days and the only prime day I can pinpoint is eight months from now. Anything before and after doesn’t match.”

“You want to tell him or should I?” Mrs. Lahiri looked at Mindy.

“Ugh fine, I’m uh a little bit pregnant.” She said, mumbling the words.

“Properly!” Her mother said sternly. Mindy may be an adult but she still was childish when it came to confessing.

“I’m pregnant!” She said.

The pundit looked her up and down and nodded. “I thought you were just fat.”

“EXSQUEEZE ME!” Mindy’s eyes went wide and she almost attacked him. Danny held her back and pulled her out of the room, apologizing for her behavior but also telling the pundit he had no room to talk about her weight when he looked like the real reincarnation of those fat Buddhist statues he always saw in Chinese restaurants.

“How dare he!” Mindy yelled at Danny when he came out to stand with her.

“I already knew he was a kook.” Danny said rather innocently.

“Let’s just get this over with so we can move on to the shopping.” Mindy said as she looked around at the stores. She saw one particularly interesting one and dragged Danny across the street and inside with her.

“Hello, how may I help you two?” The Indian lady working asked.

“Oh we were just looking.” Danny replied politely while Mindy ran to look at all the clothes and jewelry on display. She fondled a particularly beautiful set of golden bangles with bright pink jewels encrusted into it. She admired them and even tried them on showing Danny how pretty they were on her, but she took one look at the price and left them to look at something else. She looked back at them a few times before moving on completely. Danny on the other hand eyed them out of the corner of his eyes as he followed Mindy and the associate in the store. 

Mindy asked a million questions and he was barely paying attention to any of them since he barely knew anything about fashion and India, he ultimately lacked all knowledge about Indian fashion completely. As the associate showed Mindy something towards the back, Danny ventured back to the jewelry and looked at the bangles Mindy had previously shown interest in.

He looked back to make sure Mindy was out of earshot and asked the other associate, “How much for these?”

“$250.” She answered.

“What!?” Danny exclaimed outraged at how two small bracelets could cost so much. “Were they made out of moon gold or something?”

“No sir but they are authentic Indian bangles from the depths of India’s mountains made by hand out of pure gold.” The associate spun.  
“Okay I may be white but I know that’s a bit of a stretch.” He told her.

“Well they are made out of pure gold and all the jewels are authentic pink diamonds and put on there by hand.” She admitted.

Danny sighed. He looked back at Mindy and thought about how much she liked them and how surprised she’d be if he got them for her.

“Okay I’ll take them.” He looked at them one last time to make sure they weren’t broken or phony before handing them to the cashier to wrap up. He paid quickly and pocketed the bangles as fast as he could.

Mindy and the associate came back and Mindy looked annoyed. “Let’s go Danny these people clearly don’t want to have our service because they can’t lay off calling a pregnant woman fat!” Mindy said glaring at the lady.

“It was an honest mistake. I am sorry.” The lady apologized for what looked like the hundredth time but Danny knew Mindy was not about to have it especially after what the pundit had said, so he opened the door for her and let her drag him out and back to where they had started.

They got back just in time to find the pundit had come to a conclusion.

“There are very little auspicious times for this union particularly before the arrival of a baby. But I have found a few for the other union you had me look at as well.” The pundit said to Mindy’s mom, both unaware of the return of Mindy and Danny.

“Thank you. I will let Rahul and his family know.” Mindy’s mom said.

”Mindy and Rahul are much more fitting than that white man.” The pundit said with a tone of humor.

Mindy and Danny both looked at one another, aghast before exclaiming together, “Exsqueeze me!?”


	3. Love Is Not All You Need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I am so late on this but I was super busy plus I was having major writer's block on how to make this chapter and I was originally going to end it at a much shorter length but I hate short chapters even if they are necessary. Anyways enjoy! -xoxo Tak

“What the hell mom!” Mindy yelled at her mother once they got back home. She was so furious at her mother that she couldn’t even look at her all the way home. She had been speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. Her mother not only lied to her but hated the man she loved and the father of her unborn child. If it weren’t for Danny she’d have probably caused a bigger scene but she wasn’t about to embarrass him and hurt him more than her mother already had.

“Don’t use that kind of language at me.” Her mom said calmly, as if what she did was totally normal. “I am your mother first and foremost. I do what I need to do to make sure your life is successful. You’ll thank me in the long run.”

“Thank you? For what? Trying to arrange my marriage to some rando Indian guy instead of with someone I love and care about who also loves me and is the father of your grandson?” She asked, on the verge of angry tears. “What makes you so sure that this guy is better than Danny?”

“Well for one he is Indian. He understands our culture and will uphold our traditions unlike you have so far.” Her mother replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mindy’s tears halted.

“You are my daughter, and I love you the way you are.” Her mother said, inviting Mindy to sit down next to her on the bed. Mindy was angry but she was also confused and wanted to know why her mother could do this to her, so she sat down but not close to her mother. “But when it comes to being true to your roots, you’ve turned away from being Indian and I don’t want our family’s heritage to end because you don’t want to be who you are, so I asked my friend for her son’s hand in marriage. She knows you are pregnant but because of our relationship she is willing to overlook that, and so is Rahul. He is a very nice boy who, despite being born American, chooses to be Indian. You will like him, I know you will.”

“But I don’t want to like him. If I am going to marry anyone it’s going to be for love! And I love Danny! I don’t want anyone else but Danny.” Mindy got up from the bed to face her mother. “You want me to live my life and be happy, but you refuse to accept that I can be with a white man and still be Indian. You wanted me to live the American Dream and now that I can you want me to be tied down with old, Indian traditions that people in India have come to turn away from. I refuse to marry anyone but Danny and that’s final so you can tell aunty and her son with a cheesy ass Bollywood name to go to hell because me and my caramel latte baby will not be married out of pity or tradition!”

Mindy’s mother looked at her daughter, proud but also concerned at the same time. Proud for how Mindy knew what she wanted and wasn’t going to let anyone stop her but concerned because she was still young and naïve, living with the idea that the romanticized versions of her American dreams were attainable, which wasn’t a bad thing, but it was definitely going to cause her daughter more pain to have it all crash in a matter of moments. 

Neither Mindy nor Danny really knew what they were getting themselves into. Vera Lahiri was only trying to help her daughter and save both of these kids from hurting one another. They may love each other a lot but love doesn’t matter when reality of marriage, kids, and families get in the way. The two could barely make it an hour without fighting about something. And the way they both knew exactly how to destroy one another with words worried Vera. That kind of masked venom in their words mixed with Mindy’s spite and Danny’s ability to be callous when it came to the things that mattered the most to the both of them could become the thing that would ruin them the most and she did not want them to get that far so she did what she had to do to save them so they could still be there for one another and their baby without hate in their eyes and an ache in their heart so severe that they look to other means of trying to get rid of it.

“Mindy, please just think about this for your future’s sake.” Vera said, reaching out for her daughter’s hand. But Mindy wasn’t having it. She was still extremely mad and she wasn’t going to stop especially since her mom still didn’t get that she was only going to marry one man in her life and she wanted him to be Danny and if it isn’t him then she’ll do it all on her own. Just like she’s always had to.

“My future will either be with Danny or no one at all whether you like it or not!” That was that.

Vera sighed heavily, knowing that this was going to take more time than she hoped.

“Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go to my fiancé and make out with him until I have to throw up.” Mindy said emphasizing the fact that she was already engaged to a man she loved. She walked out of the second apartment and straight to Danny’s room, where she found him folding socks to keep him-self occupied. She didn’t say word, surprising him completely as she attacked his lips, wasting no time or breath in any sort of formalities.

Danny on the other hand was dying to know what happened and as much as he loved kissing her, he needed to hear the words as well. But all Mindy could tell him was, “I love you.”


	4. Late Night with Daniel Castellano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Mr.Lahiri have a personal talk that has them both relating to one another but does it help Danny or make things worse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry that this is super late! But just in time to cheer people up who are missing Mindy and are mad upset that Fox effed up and didn't renew Mindy and lack Hulu! Hope you guys like it!  
> Also guys I am gonna be at BookCon this Saturday and am gonna see Mindy and BJ and have no clue what to ask them! PLEASE HELP!!! Give me suggestions please! Thank you lovelies!  
> -xoxo Tak

“Min?” Danny whispered to his beautiful fiancé lying next to him, naked. They hadn’t intended on having sex while her parents were there but when it was three in the morning and their peanut made her horny, they had no choice. Especially when Mindy insisted on sleeping in her underwear because the Castellano space heater was making her sweat more than usual and she insisted he do the same, which he didn’t mind until she’d wrap her legs around him and every inch of his penis was molested by her legs in the middle of the night.

“Mmm?” She mumbled from her dream like state.

Danny was about to ask her what happened earlier with her mom but he decided against it. He instead told her to go back to sleep and that they’d talk in the morning.

“Okay Dan.” She said humorously in a symphonic voice that drifted her into the sleep she was obviously craving.

Danny on the other hand slipped out of bed. He wasn’t ready to sleep while his mind was still fixated on the happenings of the day. He walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. He made sure to keep it down so neither Mindy or her parents would wake up.

He looked around and absorbed the silence. He knew from the moment he started being friends with Mindy he’d never have his apartment be as quiet as it once was. Hell, his own mind would never be as calm as it was before meeting her. But he didn’t mind especially now that in a few short months the whole apartment would be filled with a new type of noise that was so foreign to it’s walls and halls. And that frankly scared him. Danny had come to the terms with the pregnancy, sure but had he really come to the terms of being a father to a living breathing human baby? Not by landslide.

He wasn’t sure what to expect. Being an OB/GYN wasn’t as helpful as people would assume. Delivering babies and having a baby of your own was far from the same thing. For starters what if the baby hates him? If a patient’s child hates him it’s not his problem nor does he care but if his own child hates him it’d break his heart. Especially since he was sure he already loved that baby. God he loved that baby so much. That baby and Mindy were all he ever wanted in the world and he didn’t realize it until he had them both. So much that he’d literally do anything he could to make sure they got everything they deserved.

But what if that meant Mindy needing to marry some Indian guy? He didn’t want her parents to disown her or their baby. And he didn’t want the baby to have a father that couldn’t give them what they deserved.

“Daniel?” Mr. Lahiri interrupted Danny’s thoughts. “What are you doing up so late?”

“Um I was just getting a glass of water sir.” Danny said reflexively.

“While sitting on the sofa?” Mr. Lahiri remarked with a humorous smile. Danny didn’t know what to say and he didn’t have to say anything. Mr. Lahiri came around and sat down on the couch near Danny. “I know what you are really doing.”

Danny swallowed. “You do?”

“I myself did this many times before marriage. Even more before Mindy was born.”

“Sir?” Danny asked to clarify.

“Cold feet. Restless night. Wanting to feel like everything would be okay. These are common symptoms of an unprepared young man with little to no idea what it’s like to have his own family.” Mr. Lahiri explained. “One minute you’re young, talking about the cricket match with your work mates and the next minute you’re getting betrothed to the girl you never saw as anything more than your schoolmate. Then you’re married and moving to a different country thousands of miles away from home and you’re suddenly waiting in a hospital to become a father even though you can remember being a youngster yourself. It’s a scary journey Daniel but it is one that is worth it.”

Mr. Lahiri took a moment to reflect on his life. Danny watched his soon to be father in law in deep thought before realizing that Mr. Lahiri was talking about his own life and how it unfolded.

“You are lucky though Daniel.” Mr. Lahiri finally added. “You are lucky because you get to have a choice and your choice is being made with love in your heart. I love Mrs. Lahiri and Mindy and Rishi. I do, but I did not get to choose the life I am living. If I could go back I’d choose it on my own, with heart and not fear of disappointing my family. You on the other hand get to decide for yourself what you want. That is the beauty of America. You are always given a choice. Especially a white male like yourself.”

Danny smiled. He could see where Mindy got her humor.

“However Daniel, your decision affects not only you but two other lives. And you must be cautious and decide what’s best for them more than anything else because their future relies on your choices too.” Mr. Lahiri said. “And I know you’ll make the right decisions because you love them.”

“Well, good night Daniel.” Mr. Lahiri got up and patted Danny on the shoulders before leaving.

Danny sat there even more confused at what to do. Mr. Lahiri was right but Danny still didn’t know what the right choice was. Especially because he didn’t know what kind of father he’d be to his baby. Hell Danny didn’t know how to be a husband let alone a father. With Christina he never had to worry about a family. She never wanted kids and he never wanted her. It was easy and safe with her because there were no expectations. He was a terrible husband to her though. He never actually cared about making her happy. But with Mindy all he ever wanted was to make sure she’d be happy.

He wanted to give her everything he couldn’t and didn’t give Christina. But the problem always was that he didn’t believe he was capable of giving her the things she deserved. Mindy wanted the fairytale romcom of a Nora Ephron movie but all Danny could ever give her was a romantic tragedy of Titanic proportions. She’s a princess but he’s a boring old town physician and Danny was 1000% sure there’s not a single romantic tale of the sorts out there for them and despite how great he was with words, he knew even he couldn’t spin the happy ending for this love affair.

Maybe the choices he was making weren’t the right ones at all. Were these choices even choices he had? He never for a moment thought about whether he was actually choosing to do this out of love or obligation but after all that Mr. Lahiri said he wasn’t so sure. If he were honest with himself for a moment he’d admit that when Mindy became pregnant he knew that he had to marry her no matter what. But after the initial moment wore off and they both accepted their fates he wished he could say he chose to propose because he wanted to, however he’d be lying to himself even more. He proposed because Mindy wanted it and he wanted to give her the things she wanted. But what about the things she needed? Was he someone she needed? She’d argue yes but he somehow couldn’t convince himself that he was. How could he be when her own parents barely thought so?


End file.
